3-pointers: Takeaways from the Rockets' win against the Bulls

Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul (3) sizes up Chicago Bulls forward Noah Vonleh (30) in the second half at the Toyota Center on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Houston. Rockets won the game 118-86.

Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle

The blowout was certain as soon as the Toyota Center doors were unlocked. The Bulls are not just a young, rebuilding lottery-bound team better-served with a loss, they were short-handed with Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Paul Zipser out.

That might not be the equivalent of James Harden, Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute, but it was more than the Bulls could afford to lose.

The Rockets, however, have grown accustomed to ignoring opponent’s situations, having romped past a worn-out Pelicans team and the undermanned Hawks as a warmup for the baby Bulls. It seemed a matter of time before the Rockets would overwhelm the Bulls – and they took their lead to as much as 40 – for a variety of reasons, but especially because they played as if they were unaware of how great a mismatch the game was from the start.

Houston Rockets forward Tarik Black (28) dunks the ball in the second half against Chicago Bulls at the Toyota Center on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Houston. Rockets won the game 118-86.

Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle

1. Beating up on the members of the NBA’s tanker club is not a primary goal of the Rockets’ season, but before the games turn meaningful again, they have earned a moment to appreciate the relentlessness of their approach. There are many reasons the Rockets have a franchise-record 61 wins, with wins in 31 of their past 33 games and 10 straight for their third double-digit winning streak of the season. As much as might be said about star power and a well-constructed roster, about an improving defense and a selfless camaraderie, the Rockets win so regularly because they don’t take nights off. There is something to be said for their steadfast professionalism. They were worn out last week against the Pistons and needed overtime to keep the winning streak going, but they have not succumbed to schedule losses or trap games. That might not seem like much and won’t be relevant in the post-season, but in the best regular season in franchise history, with the NBA’s best record nearly assured, they have not let up. The Bulls had the largest lead the Rockets have faced in the Rockets’ past three games and that was just two points, and it lasted for 13 seconds. Human nature can be a tough opponent and the Rockets’ intensity over the past week has not been setting records from tip to buzzer. But as often as they have said they measure themselves against their own expectations, rather than opponents, that is not just talk used to prepare for mismatches. They have played that way, from the challenges of consecutive tough road trips to the tests of their focus since they have been home. That actually could help them when they no longer can blow weak opponents off the floor. Habits, good and bad, are built in the regular season. Teams that don’t defend for 82 games can’t just flip a switch in the playoffs. Teams that have not mastered their style and schemes don’t in May. When pressure mounts, habits developed over six months can be crucial. The Rockets are not just good. They are not just hot. They have been driven, and have stayed that way, maintaining a level of play that can not only blow out bad teams in the regular season, but that they’ll need against good and great teams in the post-season.

Houston Rockets center Nene Hilario (42) drives under the basket in the first half against the Chicago Bulls at the Toyota Center on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, in Houston. ( Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle )

Photo: Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle

2. The Rockets defense has long been based on aggressively switching on screens, but rarely has it seemed to so fluster an opponent as it did on Tuesday against the young Bulls. Many teams switch to keep defenders on shooters and that helped the Rockets hold the Bulls to 21.6 percent 3-point shooting. But it also kept pressure on ballhandlers, until the Bulls repeatedly tried passes that had no chance to get through. The Rockets’ 15 steals were their most this season. Even with Clint Capela sitting out, the Rockets had their centers – Nene, Ryan Anderson and Tarik Black – switching with the Bulls unable to break them down. That was in a large part because the Bulls were without their two best ballhandlers and creators, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn. But the Rockets’ switches have become more seamless, more aggressive. The help has come more quickly, more reliably. The Rockets are up to seventh in defensive rating, just two tenths of a point per 100 possessions behind the Warriors and Raptors. The Rockets have built their defensive style to fit their roster and the type of offense that has taken over much of the league. On Tuesday, it tormented a young team that was not ready for it.

3. Eric Gordon does not lead the NBA in scoring off the bench. He does not even lead players named Gordon, with Aaron Gordon scoring 19 points in the one game he did not start for the Magic this season. Among players eligible for the Sixth Man of the Year award he won last season, Gordon is second in scoring off the bench, 6.5 points behind Lou Williams. But a consideration for that award, or at least when thinking about Gordon’s season, should be how he has played when filling in for absent starters. That is part of a sixth man’s job, too, and has been where Gordon has been phenomenal, especially lately. In his 29 starts, Gordon has averaged 21.6 points and 3.5 assists per game, making 37.1 percent of his 3-pointers. In the past four games, with either James Harden or Chris Paul out, he has averaged 23.5 points on 53.2 percent shooting. The Rockets are 20-9 with Gordon starting, a winning percentage without one of their two headline stars that would be good enough for the third-best record – behind the Rockets overall this season and the Warriors – in the NBA this season. In the 15 games since Gordon returned from food poisoning, he has made 48.7 percent of his shots, 46.4 percent of his 3s, seeming stronger as the season has progressed, all while defending at a higher level than last season. That might not make Gordon a repeat Sixth Man winner, the first since Detlef Schrempf in 1990-91 and 1991-92, but it might make him an even bigger part of the Rockets’ success than when he took home the award last season.

Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back.

Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty.

After joining the Houston Chronicle in 1990, Feigen has covered the demise of the SWC, the rise of the Big 12 and the Rockets at their championship best.